Petrol

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Hi guys,

Not had my GS1200 out for a run in nearly 3 weeks due to ilness but got her out today for a blast as was feeling much better and found that it stunk to high heaven of petrol.

I think I know what it might be, before I locked her away I filled her with petrol....do you think its just petrol coming from the breather pipes and I overfilled it too much as I would not have used any since it's just down the road? The bike is also on the side stand as there is no room in my shed to put it on the centre stand.

There was a patch of petrol on the floor but it is not dripping anymore. So I washed the bike down with a supersprayer and megs class shampoo and it still stinks!

Could this be due to my stupid self or could there be a pipe off somewhere? After the run there were no leaks anywhere so am asuming it's my fault

Thanks
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p.s. the bike started first time and it had the alarm on all that time

 

[ts2]

Not sure

I'm assuming you've owned the bike for a while, as I used to regularly leave the filler cap open. It looked shut, but hadn't clicked down. First I knew of it was the strong smell of Petrol.

Other than that I'd check for leaks, but this is a right pain, as the part that drips is invariably no where near the actual leak.

Good luck with it.

TobyS

 

[Format]

I'm assuming you've owned the bike for a while, as I used to regularly leave the filler cap open. It looked shut, but hadn't clicked down. First I knew of it was the strong smell of Petrol.

Other than that I'd check for leaks, but this is a right pain, as the part that drips is invariably no where near the actual leak.

Good luck with it.

TobyS

No mate, this is my first GS having owned a GTS for a long time, only had her a couple of months. The petrol cap was pushed down correctly.
I just think it was me.... I hope.

 

[G5RJO]

Heat and expansion

My bet is it was very full and given it was quite cold three weeks ago and somewhat warmer now....it will have expanded slightly and simply vented off.

Was it also hot in the shed?

Ride it a few miles, burn off some fuel and it should stop. Tanks are often left with an expansion gap, have you also pulled the rubber collar on the tank filler or drilled it to allow you to get more in?

Roger.

 

[Slowdown]

My bet is it was very full and given it was quite cold three weeks ago and somewhat warmer now....it will have expanded slightly and simply vented off.

Was it also hot in the shed?

Ride it a few miles, burn off some fuel and it should stop. Tanks are often left with an expansion gap, have you also pulled the rubber collar on the tank filler or drilled it to allow you to get more in?

Roger.

^^^^^^ Wot he says ^^^^^^

 

[slojon]

Funny, a mate's GSA always smells of petrol and always has.(07) We've been all over it for nil result.

 

[luckylucian]

Modern unleaded is very volatile and evaporates and expands easily, you'd be surprised how hot it gets in a sealed shed during the day and hey presto a petrol smell and a small pool if you put it away full (especially if you've done the filler neck mod)

 

[Pukmeister]

Aromatic hydrocarbons.

 

[mrsroynie]

When I had one of the original single-cylinder 650GS's in 2001, I had the same problem. Parked it in a friend's garage and the whole place stank of fuel the following morning. Nothing seemed particularly amiss, and there were no obvious leaks so we just assumed I had over-filled the bike, aired the garage, and thought no more about it ... until a few days later. This time the bike had been parked outside but in the still morning air, there was a distinct whiff of fuel. I took the seat off to reveal a large round plastic cap under which, I think, the fuel pump gubbins was located. The cap was loose, and fuel had accumulated in the central well. I was able to simply mop up the surplus fuel and screw the cap tight.

The other day we were talking to the Off-Road Skills school's chief mechanic about the infamous fuel pump controller failure on the 1200's. He explained that it was the siting of the controller under the front mudguard that was the cause of most of the problems, as it often gets wet and, as water tended to accumulate in the cap, it was prone to corrosion. Naturally we peered under the mudguard to see what he was talking about, and I noticed the same type of screw cap (I think it is actually called a union nut) as I described on my old 650.

Is it possible that yours is loose?

 

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Well guys I thought I would post an update in case it may help others with the same problem I have had.

Got to work and it still stank, checked the bike after a few hours and there were no signs of petrol dripping anywhere.

Got home tonight with the sun still out decided to have a good look for anything wrong. Low and behold on the right hand side grey tank panel there was a line of grub on the underside which was petrol.

Decided not to chance riding her anymore as it was getting worse, it was so bad that my bike clothes absoloutely stink of petrol now and rang BMW assist (never thought I would need to ring them after only having the bike for approx 2 months).

The guy took 40 mins to get to me from the call made (excellent service) and took the panel off and out popped a nut and washer??????? not something that should happen really. It turned out to be the petrol tank fitting.

On closer inspection he found that the 'O' ring on the petrol pipe had packed in and it was there that it was leaking from. He promptly put another one in and did the nut up and job done in 5 mins.

I can only think that the nut on the tank was not tightened at all and that due to the tank vibrating more than it should it made a tiny little knick on the 'O' ring causing it to leak. The guy said that they could not have done the nut up at all as there is rubber on the otherside of the tank mount to stop vibration.

So now got a shed full of petrol, clothes stinking of the stuff and find myself quite lucky that the big red engine did not pay a visit all over a 5 pence 'O' ring.

Off now to fill her up lol.

 

[Slowdown]

Sounds like you had a potential dog of a bike there.

If you'd thrown a match on it it'd have gone Woof!


Glad you got it sorted, but is there any chance of a pic of the offending O ring? I can't visualise where it is....

 

[Format]

Nope sorry don't have a camera. It's at the end of the pipe that fits into the tank.

 

[Katnip]

gs1200

I have had my gs1200 since 2006 and it has always given a whiff of petrol when I open the garage. However, what really worried me was that unfortunately I let the bike go over in a layby and the fuel was spilling out of the bike. Ok I should have been more careful but these bikes are built for off road as well and people are always dropping bikes in those circumstances so surely this is not right?

I once had to brake sharply and fuel, not a lot, flew out for a split second over my chest.

Any advice greatley appreciated Colin

 

[Yonkyo]

I have had my gs1200 since 2006 and it has always given a whiff of petrol when I open the garage. However, what really worried me was that unfortunately I let the bike go over in a layby and the fuel was spilling out of the bike. Ok I should have been more careful but these bikes are built for off road as well and people are always dropping bikes in those circumstances so surely this is not right?

I once had to brake sharply and fuel, not a lot, flew out for a split second over my chest.

Any advice greatley appreciated Colin

That shouldn't happen. i've had all my GS's on there side a few times when off roading, without any petrol spillage.

All i can suggest is to check your filler cap, to make sure its closing and sealing properly and that the rubber O ring is OK.

 

[Bikerbuk]

Similar problem

My 05 GS stinks of fuel at times. I know that I've over filled it a couple of times and that has caused fuel to get in the breather pipe. It seems to stink and drip fuel for a few days, even after another careful refill and a good few miles on it to use fuel. The leak appears to be coming from around the fuel pump on the left of the tank (sitting on bike) then all of a sudden it clears up and is fine until the next time I overfill it Got a short attention span you see